Synthetic absorbable polymers have been used to produce various surgical products such as sutures, implants, prostheses, and the like, for several years. Illustrative U.S. patents that disclose such polymers are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,297,033, 3,044,942, 3,371,069, 3,531,561, 3,636,956, Re. 30,170, and 4,052,988.
This invention provides a new class of synthetic absorbable polymers that have a variety of uses. The polymers are copolymers of 1,5-dioxepan-2-one with lactide and/or glycolide. The invention also provides a new method for making 1,5-dioxepan-2-one.